This is true, and big business is the liberal's boogeyman. Now if we could just get on the same page and fire the politicians in government. It's the only side we have some control over.

Any politician that breaks promises or lies to get elected should be "fired" in the next election. They need money and votes. They promised something to Wall St and special interests for money to get elected. They promised something else to the people to get votes. They know which promise they're going to break from the beginning.

Yep. The biggest threat to the republic is the ignorance and apathy of the average American voter. There's no slick legislative fix for that.

Income is a dumb way to try to quantify poverty. As was alluded to in another thread, are retired NFL players 'unemployed' or in 'poverty' just because they're not working?

But the food stamp trend is troubling. Part of it is economic, but a big untalked about part is cultural.

Stigma was part and parcel of the food stamp program only a decade or two ago. Growing up, had my family ever been eligible (quite possible) we would've probably starved before applying. Maybe exaggerating. Slightly.

Anyway, accepting public welfare is much less frowned upon than it used to be. Plus the electronic food stamp cards make it a lot less tell-tale and intrusive.

The really big welfare checks go to the too big to fail banks. You don't have a problem with that?

He's willing to overlook that pesky little conflict - just as he does when subsidizing Wal-Mart employees (and every other slave wage worker in America) with his tax dollars.

We also subsidize thousands of military families that qualify for and receive food stamps.

So tell me what yearly salary should a military soldier that chooses to work on a military base, peel potatoes and throw them into a pot make?
Also what should the average salary be for a guy that changes oil at Walmart or the floor sweeper at K-Mart make that has a family of four to feed?

How much money would make you happy, I want a yearly dollar figure from you?